


Christmas Eve

by ESawyer



Category: The Book of Mormon - Ambiguous Fandom, The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: 12daysofBOM, Christmas, Homophobia, M/M, Not really angsty but not fluffy, somewhere in between ig
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:42:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27901699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ESawyer/pseuds/ESawyer
Summary: Kevin Price goes 'home' for the first time in six years.
Relationships: Elder "Connor" McKinley/Kevin Price
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26
Collections: 12 Days of Book of Mormon (2020)





	Christmas Eve

**Author's Note:**

> Hiii,  
> This is Day 1 of the 12 Days of BOM with the prompt - "You didn't have to get me anything" :D

For Kevin Price, Christmas Eve usually meant the end of a gruelling 14 shifts that would allow him to have Christmas Day off, followed by an evening of trying to covertly wrap Connor’s gifts even though he was sat right beside him. This year, however, it meant standing alone at the door of his parents house and clutching the flowers that he had hastily bought from a gas station on the drive over because he felt like it would be rude to turn up empty-handed. 

Before he knocked on the door, he hastily tugged his engagement ring off his finger and slipped it onto his middle finger. Telling his parents about a boyfriend had been a disaster, so he didn’t think that telling them about a _fiance_ would be any better. 

The door opened far too quickly for Kevin’s liking, and his mother did not at all look happy to be seeing her son for the first time in six years. 

She was wearing her dark green dress, the one that was always reserved for _serious_ occasions, like dinner with a Bishop or disowning her traumatised twenty one year old son after he returned home from Uganda. 

She didn’t say a word, so neither did Kevin. Instead, he silently handed over the bouquet of flowers with a smile that was not returned. 

“From both of us,” Kevin said quietly, “Connor and I,” 

“You’re still with him?” 

Kevin nodded, deciding to keep the fact that they had put a deposit down a wedding venue the day before to himself. 

“He would have loved to come, but he had to work,” 

That wasn’t strictly true - Kevin had made sure that Connor had put his name down to work and wouldn’t be able to swap his shift before telling him that they’d been invited to the annual Price Christmas Eve party. Not that his mom needed to know that. Or Connor, for that matter. The one silver lining of this was that Connor wouldn’t have to suffer through three hours of subtle homophobia. 

“Everyone is in the family room,” 

It wasn’t so much an invitation as it was a warning to not embarrass her even more. He only had to watch her face as she read the ‘ _Love Kevin and Connor_ ’ note he had shoved in the bouquet to know that talking about anything to do with his personal life was off limits. Which left him with the incredibly exciting topic of work, and he was almost certain that he had disappointed his parents with his choice of career. He could lie and say he worked in finance, but he wasn’t sure that would get him very far on account of the fact he wasn’t really sure what someone who worked in finance actually did. 

The house did not seem to have changed much since the last time Kevin had visited, the only striking difference was that there were no pictures of him hanging on the walls. His graduation pictures had been replaced with pictures of Jack in his prom suit, and the once prized picture of him in his missionary uniform had been replaced with a picture of _Joseph Smith,_ of all people. He didn’t even let himself begin to process the fact that he had been cut out of the family picture that hung above the fireplace.

He looked away from the walls and tried not to cringe when he took note of who was in the room. It was like walking into a nightmare full of all his least favourite relatives. His Grandma wouldn’t even look him in the eye, and he didn’t think it had anything to do with the fact that she was blind in one. 

“Hey,” Kevin said, as cheerfully as he could force himself to, “Sorry I’m a bit late, I had to drive my fian - my - I had to drive my...my, um - I had to drive Connor to work,” 

His dad cleared his throat and Kevin found himself tensing up. Kevin Price Senior clearing his throat was always a precursor for an hour long lecture about how he wasn’t doing good enough, and how he had to try harder if he wanted to do something worthwhile with his life. 

“You’ve come alone?” he asked. 

Kevin nodded, picking at the skin around his nails, “Connor, um - Connor is working. And it’s hard to change shifts on Christmas Eve,” 

“Shifts?” his dad repeated, “What’s he doing still working a job that requires him work shifts? Does he not have a real 9-5?” 

“Uh - he’s - he’s an EMT,” Kevin lied. 

“And you?” he asked, “You’ll be doing your residency now, will you not?” 

Kevin bit the inside of cheek and shook his head, “Uh, no. I’m not a doctor. I’m a nurse. Paediatrics, I - I really like it,” 

His dad huffed a breath and shook his head, “That’s a _woman's_ job, Kevin,” 

Physically biting his tongue, Kevin dropped down onto the sofa behind him only to realise that he had sat next to Jack. They made eye contact for a fraction of the second before Kevin looked away. The last time they had had a conversation, Jack had told him that he couldn’t bring himself to look past his lifestyle choices but promised he would still pray that he would find the Lord again. 

“Where’s Ashleigh?” Kevin asked quietly, casting his eyes around the room and realising his sister was nowhere to be seen. 

“She’s spending Christmas alone with her husband. Their last before she has the baby,” his mom said. 

Kevin blinked at her, a lump rising in his throat, “O-Oh. I didn’t know - I didn’t know she was...she was married,” he frowned, “So, is - is Freddie on his mission or-” 

“Uganda” 

“Uganda,” Kevin repeated, his heart dropping to his stomach, “Is he? Is he - Is he okay? Have you talked to him? Do you know where he is exactly?” 

“Why do you need to know?” his Grandma asked, with the type of spite that only old women seemed to possess. 

“He’s in Kampala,” Jack said, “I spoke to him this morning. He’s really enjoying it,” 

The rest of the night passed with little incident outside of Kevin being treated to a long explanation about how one of his cousins was a doctor at Mayo Clinic in _Florida_ and that he was expecting his first child with his _wife._

He tried to ignore his family for the most part; he stared down at his hands and occasionally nodded his head or made a noise at the back of his throat whenever Jack whispered something to him in a pathetic attempt to clear the air between them. 

Being able to indulge in his mom's home cooking wasn’t even enough to distract him from his Grandmother loudly lamenting the fact that she could never be proud of all of her grandchildren. Kevin had always thought it would be easy to be proud of a grandchild who was a nurse, but he could no longer pretend to understand why Mormon’s brains worked the way they did. 

He at the very least had Connor’s texts to keep him distracted from launching himself across the room and slapping his elderly grandmother

** Connor **  
  
**Connor:** Hows it going babe?  
  
**Connor:** Kevin Price Senior still a dick?  
**Kevin:** Take a guess  
**Kevin:** He told me that being a nurse is a womans job  
**Connor:** Always delightful is your dad   
**Connor:** And if anyones got a womans job its me  
**Kevin:** Yeah I told them you're an EMT  
**Connor:** If you tell them my real job will you film their reactions?  
**Kevin:** No  
**Connor:** You're so boring  
**Kevin:** I'm actively trying to avoid being hate crimed, love  
**Connor:** Boring

“Kevin, it’s extremely rude to be on your phone,” his mom snapped. 

At once, he dropped his phone to his lap and sat up straighter, his cheeks turning red. 

“Sorry, it was Connor. He’s uh...having a stressful shift,” Kevin said, “It’s a stressful job,”

"I wouldn’t want him to come and help me even if I’d been hit by a truck,” his dad muttered. 

And although Kevin agreed with him (because he could not think of a worse person having to deal with blood and broken bones and everything else that came with being run over), he still felt a rush of anger that he just about managed to quell. Anyone else making that joke would have gone right over Kevin’s head, but it felt completely different coming from his dad. Though it probably had something to do with the way he made his wrist go limp after he said it. 

“Sorry,” Jack whispered, nudging Kevin’s knee with his own, “I - I try to tell them. They never listen,” 

“Whatever,” Kevin mumbled, “I don’t care,” 

When one of his cousins ended up sitting at the piano and the night devolved into singing the hymns that haunted his dreams, Kevin slipped out of the room and snuck upstairs. He stood in the middle of the darkened hallway for a moment, staring at the door of his childhood bedroom. 

Against his better judgement, Kevin pushed open the door and flicked the light on. He couldn’t help the way his heart sank when he realised that his parents had re-decorated to the point that there was no trace of him left.

Kevin kicked the door shut behind him and dropped down onto the bed with his head in his hands, torn between wanting Connor to be there with him and being glad that he didn’t have to hear anything that had been said. 

“You in here, Kev?” 

Kevin groaned and looked up at him, “Jack, I’m really not in the mood for-” 

“I got you a present,” 

“What?” 

Jack held a badly wrapped present out to him with an awkward smile on his face, “My girlfriend wasn’t around to wrap it so I had to do it because she can - she can do all like bows and stuff and has much nicer handwriting than me and also - um...I think I spelt Connor’s name wrong, sorry. I panicked. For some reason I thought that if your name started with a K then so would his,” 

Kevin took the present off him and glanced down at the tag that was attached to. 

_‘To Kevin and Konnor, Merry Christmas! Love, Jack and Lola’_

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Kevin said, “Or Connor, for that matter,” 

"I know, but I - I wanna...I wanna apologise, for everything,”

Kevin smiled at him and unwrapped the present, snorting when the box fell onto his lap.

“A snow globe?” Kevin said. 

“A _Disney_ snow globe,” Jack pointed out, “Look that’s the - that’s the castle,” 

“I know it is,” Kevin said with a laugh, “Thank-you, bud. I really like it. And so will Connor,” 

He looked down his hands, slowly pulling his engagement ring off his middle finger and sliding it onto his ring finger. Jack looked down at his hands, an odd look flickering over his face when he saw the ring sitting on the correct finger. He looked back up at Kevin and smiled. 

“Congratulations,” he said quietly, “ When did you get married?” 

“We’re engaged. We’re getting married next June,” Kevin told him, spinning the ring around his finger, “I didn’t want anyone to know that we’re engaged but I don’t like not wearing it. I’m scared of losing it,” 

Jack nodded silently as he sat next to him, running a hand through his hair, “So, like...who proposes to who?” 

Kevin huffed a laugh, “Connor proposed to me when we were on vacation in Hawaii. I was kind of annoyed actually because I’d bought him a ring and I was going to propose to him when we got home. I was gonna take him to Bridal Veil Falls...” he trailed off with a smile, “I still did, I just made him act like we weren’t already engaged and he didn’t know I was going to do it,” 

“In Provo?” 

“That’s where we live,” Kevin told him, “but Connor works in Salt Lake. There’s more gay bars,” 

He hadn’t even realised that he had said something odd until Jack turned to look at him with a confused look on his face.

"Why - Why does Connor need to work somewhere where’s there's more gay bars?” 

“Well, where else is he gonna - _oh_ ,” Kevin couldn’t help it and burst into laughter, “Sorry, I - he’s not a EMT. I lied because I didn’t want to tell mom or dad that he’s actually a drag queen. He performs at different bars and clubs and weddings and stuff,” 

“A drag queen,” Jack repeated faintly, “He’s a...I mean, that sounds - it sounds like a fun...uh - a fun job,” 

Kevin nodded, fishing his phone out of his pocket and showing him a picture of the two of them when Connor wasn’t Connor, but Maddelyn Hatter. He watched his brothers face carefully, and could tell that he was doing his very best to not say something outrageously offensive. 

“It’s okay if you don’t understand,” Kevin said, dropping his phone to the bed, “I don’t expect you to,” 

“I want to though, Kev,” Jack said quietly, “I feel terrible about how I treated you, but I was - I was only nineteen when you came back from your mission and I was getting ready to go on mine and there was all this _pressure_ for me to - to not - to...” 

“To not fuck up like I did?” Kevin suggested, “To not bring shame onto the entire family?” 

I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I - I know you went through a lot when you were there-” 

“-that feels like an understatement,” 

“And I should have been there for you. I shouldn’t have just...kicked you to the curb like I did,” Jack continued, “and I - I want to be here for you now. I miss you, bud. It’s always worse around the holidays,"

Kevin sighed and looked back down at his hands again. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted anymore; there were sometimes weeks when all he wanted was to be with his family again, like they always used to be, but if tonight had proved anything to him, it was that he was worth more than spending time with people who only loved him conditionally. He deserved more than that. _Connor_ deserved more than that. 

“Freddie misses you too. Says he’s really struggling to learn Swahili,” 

“Are you sure he’s okay?” Kevin asked quietly, his stomach twisting at the thought of the General somehow finding him, “He’s not - He hasn’t...He hasn’t met a War Lord, has he?” 

“No, he hasn’t,” Jack said, “I make him email me everyday to make sure he’s okay. He’ll be home in three months. Maybe when he comes home we could...meet up? I could introduce you to Lola and we could - we could meet Connor, but _properly_ this time,” 

Kevin nodded, hastily wiping his eyes, “Yeah. I think that’d be - that’d be nice. Just as long as mom and dad aren’t there. I don’t need them telling me and Connor about how much God hates us,” 

"They’re wrong. God doesn’t hate you,” Jack said confidently, “He still loves you,” 

“I don’t want him to,” 

“That’s - That’s okay. But I do. If that - If that counts for anything,”

“It does,” Kevin said quietly, “but I - I don't think I can say it back to you yet," 

Jack nodded, sniffling a little, "I know. It's not - It's not up to you to fix it, it's - it's up to me to fix it. It's my fault," 

Kevin frowned at him, "Who told you that?" 

Jack flushed, "Uh, I...I got into contact with this, um, LGT - LQB - LGBQ - what is it?" 

"LGBTQ," Kevin said with a snort. 

"Yes. That." Jack said, "I got into contact with one of those charities and they've been helping me like...understand a bit better," 

Kevin had nothing to say to that. He couldn't quite believe that Jack would go to such lengths for _anyone,_ never mind the brother that he had _disowned._

"Thank-you," Kevin said quietly, "That - It really means a lot. To me _and_ Connor. He probably wont try and hit you when he sees you now," 

"Connor wanted to _hit_ me?" 

Kevin nodded solemnly, "The whole family, really. Part of the reason I wanted him to work tonight. He would have tried to fight everyone," 

"Even Grandma?" 

" _Especially_ Grandma," 

And sure, climbing out of the window to avoid the (female) 'suitor' that his mother had invited on his behalf wasn't exactly how he wanted to end the night, but it would at least make for a funny story one day. He would just leave out the part where he broke his arm in the process and had to have Jack drive him to the hospital where Connor met them - still in full drag. 

**Author's Note:**

> These texts remain the bane of my life 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
